Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Series: Champion of the Gods Book 2 (Should
not be read as a standalone)

Categories: Fantasy, Gay Fiction

Release Date: April 14, 2015

Pages or Words: 296 pages

Publisher: DSP Publications

Cover Artist: AngstyG

Blurb(s):

After defeating Meglar at Belsport, Farrell returns to Haven to
recover from his injuries, but Khron, the god of war, has other ideas. He gives
Farrell a new mission: free the survivors of the ancient dwarf realm of
Trellham from their three-thousand-year banishment. To fulfill Khron's near
impossible task, Farrell will need the help of his distance ancestor, the
legendary wizard Kel. But Kel has been dead for a thousand years.

Farrell finds information hinting that Kel is alive, so he moves his search to
Dumbarten, Kel's birthplace. To reach Dumbarten unannounced, Farrell and
Miceral disguise themselves as mercenaries on board a merchant vessel. Their
journey is disrupted when pirates attack their ship. While attempting to subdue
the attack, Farrell is struck down by one of Meglar’s minions.

Unconscious and trapped in his own mind, Farrell's only chance for survival
rests with Miceral and the peregrine king Rothdin entering his thoughts and
helping him sort fact from illusion. To reach Farrell, they will need to rely
on an untested spell from one of Kel's spellbooks. If they succeed, Miceral can
guide Farrell home safely. If not, Farrell will destroy not only himself, but
Miceral, Rothdin, and everyone around him.

Miceral grabbed his last
javelin and crept toward the starboard rail. The tip of pirate’s prow had just
reached their stern. He could see men crouched under the protection of the
gunwale. “They’re almost here—be ready.”

Moving faster than the enemy
could react, Miceral scaled the short staircase and quickly found a protected
spot in the aftcastle. Peering through a narrow opening, he scanned the
clusters of men he could see. At the rear of the largest group, Miceral spotted
someone who, by clothing at least, appeared to be an officer. With no one else
standing out as being the captain, this man became his target.

Springing to his feet, he
hurled the spear before anyone could target him. One of the pirates huddled by
the rail fired an arrow, which Miceral caught in midflight. Flashing the enemy
a wicked grin, he snapped the shaft in half before dropping back behind his
cover.

Miceral closed one eye and
stared through the space between crates. He watched the men look toward where
their officer had been standing, and from the shouts he knew he’d hit his mark.
One pirate tried to pull the spear out but failed. When he turned to ask for
help, a stream of blood dribbled out of his mouth and over the feathers of the
arrow protruding from his neck. Everyone else ducked immediately and remained
out of sight.

Miceral traced the shaft’s path
back to where Peter knelt, nocking another arrow. He gave his friend a wink and
a nod. Before either could enjoy the small victory, a hail of arrows and spears
whistled across the deck. Under the cover of this barrage, dozens of grappling
hooks landed on the deck of the Rose. Once the barbs dug into whatever
purchase they could find, the two vessels inched closer. Miceral heard the
faint thud of the two ships colliding and slipped the mace and axe from his
belt.

With the ships tethered
together, the pirates flipped long wooden planks from their ship onto the Seafoam
Rose. Hooks on the ends secured the slim pathway firmly in place. The first
wave of invaders ran across the boards, screaming at the top of their lungs. If
they expect to scare the crew into surrender, that hope dissipated when four of
their number fell dead from a round of arrows.

Miceral used the distraction to
leap from his hiding place. Screaming his own battle cry, he rushed the
startled pirates. From his right, Emerson and Nathan led the crew in defense of
their ship.

The ferocity of the resistance
appeared to catch the invaders by surprise. Miceral killed anything in his
reach, stalling the attack momentarily. Peter stood next to Miceral and proved
the value of all the long hours of practice he’d been put through.

Unfortunately, Miceral couldn’t
defend all points of entry onto the vessel. The pirates quickly learned to
avoid the armed warrior who moved with the speed of lightning.

The initial advantage of the Rose’s
crew quickly evaporated as the pirates brought superior numbers onto the
trading ship. To avoiding being surrounded, the defenders fell back to a
predetermined, more defensible position. This allowed the rest of the pirates
to cross unimpeded.

“Now would be a good time to
arrive, Farrell.” Miceral didn’t know
if Farrell could hear him, but if he didn’t arrive soon, there’d be no one left
to rescue.

“I’m
almost there, Ral.” Farrell’s
voice distracted Miceral enough that he cut off an opponent’s arm instead of
slicing through the man’s neck. “Hang on!”

Andrew
Q. Gordon wrote his first story back when yellow legal pads,
ball point pens were common and a Smith Corona correctable typewriter was
considered high tech. Adapting with technology, he now takes his MacBook
somewhere quiet when he wants to write.

He currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with
his partner of twenty years, their daughter and dog. In addition to dodging some very
self-important D.C. 'insiders', Andrew uses his commute to catch up on his
reading. When not working or writing, he enjoys soccer, high fantasy, baseball
and seeing how much coffee he can drink in a day.

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